Festival & Events in Italy

Welcome to Italy!

Dear Passenger, dear Colleague,

In this section you may find some useful information about our Country. Here follow, a brief list of the most interesting 'Festival & Events' which will be performed during this year. Details regarding 'The Top 10 Best Places to visit in Italy', 'Best Museums in Italy' and 'Outlets List' can be downloaded here. Information regarding the seasonality to visit Italy at the bottom of the page.

The Holy Year, or Jubilee, is one of the Catholic Church’s most important events, in which faithful make pilgrimages to Rome.

The last one, declared by John Paul II, was in 2000 and about 25 millions of pilgrims came to Rome to take part in religious festivities throughout the year. It was especially important because it celebrated the 2000th anniversary of the birth of Christ and because it was the first Holy Year marking the turn of a millennium: the earliest Jubilee was proclaimed by Pope Boniface VIII in 1300.

This will be the 29th Holy Year in the Church since the tradition started more than 700 years ago.

Holy Years normally take place every 25 years unless a pope decrees an extraordinary one to bring attention to a particular topic or need. The next one had been scheduled for 2025.

Faithful who make pilgrimages to religious sites during a Holy Year can receive indulgences, the highest form of forgiveness and the remission of punishment for sins.

The Vatican said the official proclamation of the Holy Year, a document called papal bull, has been published in April '15 (see above link).

The last extraordinary Holy Year was called in 1983 by Pope John Paul II to mark the 1,950 years after the death of Jesus. The “special” Holy Year does not alter the recurrence of Ordinary Jubilees.

DEC15

DEC - TBA

Motoshow Bologna

Bologna

Exhibition

Seasonality to visit Italy by month:

January and February are cold, wet or snowy. Tourism is very low, as are hotel and flight prices.March and April are rainy and still much chillier than visitors often expect. Tourism surges briefly during Easter week, seeing many traditional Catholic festivities, including pilgrimages.May and June are pleasantly warm throughout most of the country, attracting large amounts of tourists. Expect long lines and crowds, and high season pricing. Reservations for hotels, train travel, and museum entrances recommended.July is essentially and extension of May and June, with continued heat, high prices, and long lines.August is likely the cruelest month, especially in cities. Visiting in August can be tricky, as it is still officially high season, but also the traditional vacation month in this country. In August, Italians wisely head for the cooler climes of mountains and beaches, all but abandoning hapless tourists in blistering city center. Expect chiuso per ferie ("closed for holiday") signs storefronts, particularly the week of Ferragosto, an important Italian holiday that falls on August 15. Attractions remain open in August, but often operating under limited hours. Reservations still highly recommended.September's climate is improved slightly from August's, though it is still quite warm. Depending on the establishment and region, prices may begin to return to low season levels. (September would fall under the "mid" season price category used by some establishments). Businesses re-open, Italians return to work from their August holidays, and there are fewer tourists than in prior summer months.October sees fewer tourists, low season prices, cooling temperatures and lovely fall landscapes - reasons, all, to make this month more attractive to visitors who can swing an off season vacation (more difficult if you have school-aged children). November in Italy is cold and virtually empty of tourists. Count on low season pricing.December is low season up until the period encompassing Christmas through the Feast of the Epiphany (January 6). As early as the week after Christmas, many Italians begin the popular settimana bianca, or "white week" of ski breaks, thus sending Alpine resorts into full swing. Christmas in Italy is an exciting, tradition-rich time to visit, worth considering for your second or third trip.